
An Upgrade Is Not Just a Technical Migration. It Is a Transformation Decision.
Why Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365?
Move to a secure, scalable cloud platform with better flexibility, automation, and long-term savings. Migrating from Microsoft AX to Dynamics 365 isn’t as easy as it sounds. Analyzing new software infrastructure, planning to upgrade older versions, preparing for additional customizations, and checking on for optimal ability are just a few of the complexities involved. There’s a lot more that can make the entire porting process tiring and exhausting.
Intricate customizations and integrations
Bringing your integrations, customizations, and legacy apps from AX to a new environment requires thorough vetting to determine if it can be migrated as-is or reimplemented like a fresh solution.
Problematic data and other key components
Starting with incomplete, disorganized, or inaccurate data sets can easily mess things up. It prevents your business from reaping the benefits of the Dynamics 365 migration to the fullest.
Change management that can get tricky
Migrating from any on-premise solutions to the cloud isn’t just technological shift but cultural too. Resistance from the team can undermine your migration efforts, making it difficult to succeed long-term.
Transitioning outdated versions can pose issues
Extracting data from AX and reimplementing them in Dynamics 365 needs in-depth assessment and expertise. While reconfiguring might sound like a safe bet, it can make the processes more complicated.
Problems with planning and business continuity
The entire migration plan requires proper planning and without it, things can quickly turn topsy-turvy. The end result isn’t just added cost and operational inefficiency but a lot more that directly affects business growth.
Geographic location poses a potential roadblock
Worksites in far off locations, remote places, or areas with bad internet connectivity can make the entire migration process from AX to Dynamics 365 challenging.

The Upgrade Challenge Executives Face
Organisations running legacy Dynamics AX, Dynamics NAV, or older Dynamics 365 deployments face a recurring challenge. The system that was implemented five or ten years ago was built around processes, structures, and decisions that no longer reflect how the business operates — or how it needs to operate.
- The organisation can migrate what exists to a newer version of the platform.
- Or it can use the upgrade as an opportunity to redesign how the business operates.
Most organisations default to the first option. The migration is completed. The system is newer. The underlying problems remain.
The organisations that extract genuine value from an upgrade treat it as a transformation programme:
- They assess what is working and what is not.
- They redesign processes and redefine ownership.
- They use the upgrade to build the operating model they should have built the first time.
The Terracez Dynamics 365 Upgrade Methodology





- Executive alignment on what the upgrade should achieve beyond technical migration
- Assessment of the current system: customisations, integrations, data quality, and technical debt
- Operating model review: what has changed in the business since the original implementation?
- Process ownership assessment: are the right people accountable for the right processes?
- Identification of transformation opportunities the upgrade can enable
- Risk assessment for data migration, cutover, and business continuity
- Dynamics 365 Upgrade Readiness Report
- Customisation Rationalisation Assessment
- Transformation Opportunity Map
- Data Migration Risk Assessment
- Business Continuity and Cutover Plan

- Future-state process design for functions where the current model is inadequate
- Customisation decisions: what to retain, what to retire, what to replace with standard functionality
- Data governance and master data redesign
- Integration architecture review and redesign where required

- Customisation migration or rationalisation
- Data cleansing, transformation, and migration
- Integration redevelopment or reconfiguration
- Configuration aligned to the agreed future-state operating model
- Testing strategy: unit, integration, user acceptance, and performance
- Training design and delivery for changed processes and new capabilities
- Cutover planning and Go-Live management

- User adoption monitoring and intervention
- Executive adoption and reporting quality
- Process compliance measurement
- Business KPI tracking against the agreed Success Framework
- Continuous improvement programme
- Ongoing Alignyx monitoring for transformation health

Why Dynamics 365 Upgrades Fail: The Stakeholder Alignment Problem
How Alignyx Supports Dynamics 365 Upgrade Programme Alignment
Baseline Alignment Assessment
Establishes the current state of executive alignment before the upgrade begins, identifying misalignment risks that need to be resolved before migration activity starts

Executive Dashboard
Gives programme sponsors real-time visibility into alignment health, governance maturity, and readiness signals across the upgrade programme

Transformation Governance Monitoring
Tracks whether governance structures are functioning — decisions are being made, escalations are being resolved, and business ownership is being maintained

Business Readiness Tracking
Monitors readiness across affected business functions as the upgrade progresses, flagging deterioration before it affects Go-Live

Post-Upgrade Adoption Monitoring
Tracks adoption of new capabilities after migration, ensuring that the upgrade delivers the intended operational improvements
When Alignyx identifies misalignment in any of these dimensions, it surfaces the signal to executive leadership before it becomes a programme risk. This is the difference between identifying a governance problem in week three of assessment and discovering it in month eight of implementation.

The Upgrade Alignment Programme
Terracez structures stakeholder alignment as a dedicated workstream alongside the technical migration, governed at executive level. Key activities include: • Pre-upgrade alignment workshops to agree transformation objectives and accountabilities • Operating model reviews to identify required process and ownership changes • Governance design covering decision rights and escalation paths • Continuous alignment monitoring through Alignyx • Post-migration reviews to assess sustained alignment and adoption The objective is to ensure the upgrade changes how the business operates, rather than simply moving the existing operating model onto a newer platform.

What Terracez Manages in an Upgrade Engagement
Key Considerations for GCC Dynamics 365 Upgrade Programmes
Consideration
Terracez Approach
What You Gain From Upgrading to Dynamics 365 - A game-changer for your business
Yesterday’s digital architecture won’t meet today’s need for flexibility, innovation, and speed. That’s why upgrading your older version to Dynamics 365 is more important than ever. From enhanced security to efficiency to saved costs, the upgraded version will let your business reap benefits in unexpected ways.
Start Your Upgrade Risk-Free.
Have your CRM, ERP, IoT, Business Intelligence (BI), and everything else at one location – on the cloud. Enable seamless access so everyone in the ecosystem can work from anywhere, together.
Microsoft takes full responsibility for updating and monitoring not just the platform but also the applications. This helps your business eliminate investing on additional systems or on-premises server costs.
No more planning for server space because Dynamics 365 tackles care of that. Effortlessly scale up or down based on your requirements. Have the flexibility to pick from on-cloud, on-premise, or hybrid platforms.
With cloud-based apps, hacks and malicious threats are never a question. Dynamics 365 is more secure. It monitors and counter-attacks every active threat 24/7 to ensure nothing goes down.
With cloud, your platform is accessible and compatible. Since Microsoft standardizes these apps, they seamlessly work with a SSO (Single Sign-On) and are integrated exceptionally.
The beauty of Microsoft 365 is that it launches platform updates once in 3 months whereas application updates once in 6 months, which enables businesses to stay on top with the latest technology.
Who This Is For
Dynamics 365 upgrade and migration services from Terracez are designed for:

CEOs and Transformation Directors

CFOs and Finance Directors

COOs and Operations Directors

CIOs

PMO Directors
managing complex, multi-workstream transformation programmes

Organisations across GCC
implementing Dynamics 365 for the first time or replacing
Trusted by brands across industries

Is Your Organisation Ready to Use the Dynamics 365 Upgrade as a Transformation Opportunity?

